say "We will take 20 of your comic titles," at which point we have our roacbnan in there and he says, "Come on, this is the best selling comic line in the business, and there is na reason why you shouldn't take our other 15 and drop 15 distributed hy our competiters." It is a constant pressure to keep your magazines going in there, but nothing like a tie-in, because we are not strong enough and the retailer through the wholesaler brings terrific pressure to bear on you. He will draw his copies from the wholesaler and drop them on the counter and never expose them for the sale, which is rough to take if you are a pnblisher, because you pay for that inthe final anzlysis.
The Chairman. Can the retailer send them back at the end of the month?
Mr. Froehlich. Yes, Ours is a consignment business and they can send them back.
The Chairman. Within what period?
Mr. Froehlich. We try to have all the returns in within 60 to 90 days of the off-sale period, but you must honor your commitment to the wholesaler. We would do it under any circumstances, and if he should happen to find the copies of a magazine long after that period he can return them to his—referring to the retailer—if he happens to find them in the store and returns them to the wholesaler, the wholesaler will return such copies to us and we will grant credit for them.
I can honestly say that at no time do we lower the boom so far as return date is concerned.
Mr. Beaser. If a particular retailer or wholesaler sends back month after month one of your Mystery Tales, be would still continue to get whatever he wanted on some other of your products?
Mr. Froehlich. Yes.
Mr. Beaser. What happens in the wholesale end? If I am a whole- saler will you send me a copy of next month's Mystic and say "How many copies do you get?"
Mr. Froehlich. No, sir. Your allotments toe the various whole- salers in the United States are general)y set on the basis of experience. You know approximately what your other books—in the ease of a new title yon know approximately what your other books are doing in that fielcl by that specific wholesaler. Go to your records and you set your allotment on thnt basis. We watch our allotments very, very care- fully. We don't want to waste capies. We are more interested in a high percentage of sales than we are in total number of copies sold. So that we try to use every possible device to properly ajlocate the quantity per wholesaler. We check competitive records constantly. Through our readimen we can get the figures on competitive books going into the various wholesale agencies just as the other companies ean get the figures on our books,
Mr. Beaser. As a wholesaler. the first time I see next month's Mystic is when the bundle comes in?
Mr. Froehlich. That is right; but you know what you are going to get because you get a card from our distributing company's office advising as to the allotment. That is done so that the wholesaler in the area can break down the quantity for the retailers he serves.
Mr. Beaser. Now, you say there is no opportunity for you to bring pressure to bear upon the wholesaler?
